


The Thing About Legends

by neonal



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Demons, Established Relationship, Jean Kirstein-centric, M/M, myths and legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonal/pseuds/neonal
Summary: The thing about legends, however, was that there was always some truth to them. No matter how elaborately a tale had been spun or altered to make dramatic throughout each generation, there was always a sliver of truth hiding in there.This, Jean would come to find out.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Comments: 11
Kudos: 44





	The Thing About Legends

Jean had heard the legends more times than he could count. At every gathering, whether it be family get-togethers, spiritual festivals, bonfires or other, the legend of the demon who resided in the mountains was always a highlight. Jean especially liked it when his grandmother told the tale. She had a way of using her words to paint a picture and every time she did, he could envision the events unfolding as vividly as he could see the inky black tattoos of branches that burned themselves into the entirety of his left arm when he was fourteen, from shoulder to wrist, indicating his status as an earth elemental.

His entire tribe was of the Earth, followers of the great god of harvest who sacrificed himself to grant them the power to control the element of earth. A thriving civilisation, even then centuries ago, his people lived in the mountains where they would cultivate the land with successful results. Knowing the blessing of plentiful food was a gracious gift from the god of harvest, the tribe would make offerings at the god’s shrine near the mountain’s peak and every full moon, would offer up an animal sacrifice for continued blessings. As such, the land thrived and so did the tribe.

However, unbeknownst to them, a practicing shaman summoned a demon who poisoned the mountain. The land became barren, the trees stopped producing fruit and every seed planted would die. The meager sacrifices offered to the god of harvest did nothing. Desperate, they turned to offering up a human sacrifice in hopes of receiving help from their god. To their fortune, the god of harvest showed himself to fight the demon but it was too powerful. The battle between the demon and the god raged on for six days and six nights. 

The demon was no ordinary demon. Among the most powerful of its kind, it would easily overpower the god of harvest who had grown weaker with the land. Recognizing he was fighting a losing battle, the god of harvest subdued the demon and bound its energy to himself to give himself enough time to save his people. Even if he could have won, it would have taken an eternity to restore what was lost to such a powerful entity. His followers would be long dead before that. As his last blessing to them, the god of harvest offered up his body for his people to consume so that they could inherit the power of the earth. With that power, they could leave the mountain and start anew elsewhere, now with the ability to ensure they never starve. 

And so the people feasted upon the god’s body and buried his remains in the mountains. Having been bound to the god before his consumption, the demon too would be bound to the mountain where his remains were buried.

Now, centuries later, the tale of the demon bound to the mountain still lived on and his people still carried the power of the earth element. However, not all members would be born an elemental, one who could bend the earth to their will and shift the ground beneath their feet, make a dying flower bloom again or coax bountiful harvests out of barren lands. If the indicative tattoo didn’t burn itself into your skin when you turned fourteen, then that power was not yours to wield.

Jean had been an elemental for six years already and, since that fateful night, he couldn’t stop thinking about the legend even more so than before. Despite his fascination with the story itself, Jean could hardly believe any of it. For one, his ancestors had chosen to settle down in the plains just a few miles away from the foot of the mountain where the demon supposedly still resided. Why would they settle so close to the mountain after the tragedy that had occurred? Nevermind the fact that the mountain looked anything but barren. The green of the plant life looked as lush as ever, even from where Jean could see it in the village and he knew there had to be a waterfall or two somewhere up in the mountains, possibly some natural springs. There was no possible way a demon whose sole purpose was to destroy the land was still living in the mountains when it looked as vibrant as ever. Jean tried to wake his tribe up to the idea of moving back to the mountains, but nothing came of it except weird stares and quiet whispers about his insanity when he wasn’t listening.

He thought they were being ridiculous. The mountain was available for them to use and there they were wasting the opportunity. Under previous circumstances Jean wouldn’t care, but as the years went on and less and less people were presenting as elementals, the future of the tribe was at stake. The plains they had settled on centuries ago seemed to be dying and the powers of the small portion of the population called elementals were not enough to be sustainable.

Tired of being shot down every time he proposed his people return to the mountains, Jean rounded up a rag-tag team of his friends to follow him into the mountains and prove there was no demon. On the off chance that the legends were true, however, Jean made sure his team was elite.

There was Marco, who was smart, gentle and practicing to become a shaman. His power far exceeded that of any shaman his tribe had ever known before and he still hadn’t reached his full potential. Then there were Connie and Reiner who were elementals like himself, powerful too. Lastly Sasha, who was the youngest skilled healer in the village. With that team, Jean was sure they would have no problems disputing the silly legend or fighting a demon bound to the mountain  _ if  _ it was even real.

The thing about legends, however, was that there was always  _ some _ truth to them. No matter how elaborately a tale had been spun or altered to make dramatic throughout each generation, there was always a sliver of truth hiding in there. This, Jean would come to find out.

The five friends began their journey up the mountain early on a weekday morning, despite the warnings and pleas not to go by their families. They had no trouble despite the thick, lush vegetation around them. Three of them were earth elementals after all. But the mountain peak was high and their bodies would grow tired.

Judging by the sun’s position in the sky, it was around noon when they stopped for rest and food. There was a stream nearby, far clearer and purer than the ones in their village. The water was cool and refreshing. The ripe fruit from the surrounding trees were juicy and sweet and the soil beneath Jean’s feet smelled and felt fertile. The mountain was perfect! If only his tribe wasn’t so stubborn and caught up in believing silly myths.

By the time they finished their break, they were all rested and sated. They set off again, even more determined having seen for themselves what the mountain could offer their tribe, rejuvenation.

About an hour or so into the second half of the day’s hike, the group found themselves in an almost flat area where the trees thinned and a small freshwater stream ran through. To their surprise, they weren’t alone.

Beneath a large tree sat two men. The first man Jean took note of was the bigger of the two. Clad in just loose black trousers and nothing else, he took note of his muscular physique and height that Jean could tell was impressive, despite the fact that he was sitting down. With his back pressed against the tree trunk, eyes closed and his head tilted slightly back, the gentle breeze swayed the tendrils of his waist length black hair into his face. He looked serene and handsome even to Jean who preferred women.

Perched upon the strange man’s lap was a smaller male, delicate in form and appearance. He was slim and dainty, wearing a silky white robe that was loosened to the point that the left sleeve slipped off his shoulders, revealing creamy blemish-free skin. He had the face of what Jean would imagine to be angels and silky blond hair that stopped just below his collarbones. Even as the other man remained still and closed-eyed, the blond man that sat on his lap seemed to be pressing soft kisses to his cheek over and over again, the faintest smile on his lips that remained even after each kiss.

Jean didn’t want to disturb the two men who were clearly lovers, but before he could express his sentiments to his group of friends, Connie had already spoken.

“Oy!” Connie shouted, making his way towards the two men. “What are you doing in the mountains? Didn’t you hear it was unsafe?”

“Connie, what the hell?” Reiner said, grabbing his arm. “Why didn’t you just let them be?”

“Oh come on, we were all thinking it,” Connie said, pulling his arm free from Reiner and continuing on. Sasha shrugged and followed him. Sighing, the rest followed too. Jean couldn’t deny that he was curious as Connie stated.

The two lovers, by then, had paused their afternoon activity. The black haired man’s eyes still remained closed but the blond had stopped his sweet assault on the other man’s cheek to stare at the group of friends. Crystal blue eyes observed them with curiosity.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same thing?” the blond asked with a curious tilt of his head. He hadn’t moved from his place on the other’s lap.

“Oh, we’re a team of elementals, a healer and a shaman. I think we’ll be fine out here,” Connie said. “Not that there’s even anything to be afraid of out here anyway.”

The blond raised an eyebrow then, the smallest hint of a smirk finding its way onto his lips.

“Is that so? So you’re not afraid of the mountain’s demon then?” the blond asked.

Reiner scoffed. “There’s no demon in the mountains. That’s just some tale the old folks made up to keep us off the mountain. We’re here to prove exactly that. It’s a myth.”

Jean noticed the dark haired man had begun to smirk, eyes still closed. He was clearly awake and listening to the conversation.

“A myth, huh? That’s interesting,” blondie said.

Jean got the vibe that he thought they were crazy for not believing in the demon. It was strange. The delicate man seemed to believe in the demon himself, but the strangest thing is he didn’t seem afraid. No one afraid of a demon would look so calm sitting in the mountains, and they certainly wouldn’t have made it this far in either. The couple before him was strange indeed.

“What about you two?” Jean asked. “Neither of you have the tattoos of an elemental. You seem to believe the demon exists but have no elemental power to protect yourself with. How come you’re on the mountain then?”

“We… enjoy being one with nature. The mountain is our home,” the blond man said.

That shocked Jean. They couldn’t possibly live on the mountain. No human had lived on the mountain for centuries!

“Well if all goes well, and I have no doubt it will, the mountain will be our home too,” Connie declared, feeling proud. 

“I hope you find what you’re looking for then,” said the blond, a sweet smile gracing his features. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’d like to return to spending some quiet time with my love.”

“Ah… right,” Jean said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “We’ll just leave you two to that. Have a nice day, I guess.”

“I’m certain we will,” he said with an even brighter smile.

The rest of the group said their goodbyes and continued making their way up the mountain. When Jean was quite a ways away from the couple but could still see them, he turned back to look at them. He could see that the blond man had returned to pressing feather light kisses to the other man’s cheek and now the corner of his mouth, but the dark haired man’s eyes were no longer closed. Even at that distance, Jean could see the emerald colour of his eyes, the same eyes that seemed to be looking directly at him and into his soul.

Jean felt uneasy for the rest of the journey after that.

It took the group a day and a half of hiking to make it to the mountain’s peak. They had stopped just before sunset on the previous day to set up their camp and rest for the night. Jean didn’t get much sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, emerald ones seemed to stare back at him each time. By the time they made it there, Jean was running on only a few measly hours of sleep.

To their surprise, a small house rested at the peak, the very same spot where the god of harvest’s shrine was once located and where his bones were said to have been buried according to Jean’s map.

“A house? That’s strange…” Marco muttered, staring at it in confusion. The rest of them were confused too. No one lived on the mountains. Well, except the two men from before. Was that their house then?”

Jean left his friends standing in confusion and approached the door of the house, knocking softly on it. When there was no answer, he knocked again louder. No answer.

“Stand back,” he told his friends before kicking the wooden door in. He could easily make a new one for the owners when they returned.

Once again, the group found themselves surprised. The house was entirely empty. There were no beds, no fireplace, to clothes or any indication that anyone lived in the building. What was even more strange was the large trap door in the middle of the room.

Jean bent down and observed the door, noting that it wasn't locked. As he reached for the handle, his friends stopped him.

“I don’t know about this, Jean,” Sasha said. “This place feels spooky.”

“Yeah, I have a bad feeling about this…” Marco said. “The energy I’m picking up here is strange, just like those two guys we met yesterday.”

Jean’s head snapped up. “You felt strange energy and said nothing?”

“I’m sorry but Connie was already talking to them and the guy didn't seem so bad, I thought maybe the energy was coming from something else in the area,” Marco defended himself.

Jean frowned. His uneasiness hadn’t left him since the day before and it increased tenfold after Marco’s revelation. Despite that, however, he would continue on. He climbed the mountain with a goal and he would see it through.

He pulled open the trap door to reveal an abyss of nothingness and looked back at his friends.

“I’m going down with or without you. Who will join me?”

There was silence for a few moments, and Jean could hear his own heart beating in his ears as he awaited an answer that never came.

“Very well,” Jean said, disappointment colouring his tone.

With nothing more to say, Jean swung himself into the opening of the trap door and disappeared into a dark abyss.

Unbeknownst to Jean, in the empty house above him, the remaining four felt a sudden bone chilling breeze before they immediately lost consciousness.

Jean felt like he was falling for eternity. He lost track of time entirely and couldn’t tell how long it took him before he finally hit the ground.

Opening in eyes, what greeted him wasn’t the large underground cellar he had expected to find. No, what greeted him was a long, dark hallway that seemed to stretch on forever on one side, and led to a pair of large double doors on the other.

How strange, he thought as he began walking down the hall, towards the doors. There were other doors on each side of the hallway, but for some reason Jean kept moving forward towards the double door as if it were calling out to him.

When he finally reached the doors that seemed taller up close, Jean took a moment to take a deep breath before taking both handles into his hands and pulling the door open.

What greeted him was a large room with dark décor. On each wall at either side of him stood rows of people dressed in long, black robes with hoods pulled over their bowed heads, concealing their faces. The room, like the one above, was mostly empty. Besides the gothic decorations on the walls and shiny silver candleholders that held the dozens of lit candles that illuminated the dark room, the only piece of furniture was a large throne with an occupant.

This time it didn’t come as a shock to Jean when he noticed the same dark haired man from before. On the floor below him sat the same blond man from before, head resting in the other man’s lap as he ran long fingers through his silky looking hair. Emerald eyes watched his every movement as he made his way further into the room.

“So you’ve finally made it,” came the man’s deep, almost bored voice.

“What is this place?” Jean asked. “How is this possible?”

“I believe you already know the answer to that question, Jean,” the man said. How did he know his name? “Ah, forgive me. I can see you’re too shocked to think and I’ve yet to introduce myself. My name is Eren. This is Armin.”

Armin offered him that same, sweet smile from before.

Poor guy! The demon… he was real. And he was holding this man in some sort of hostage. 

“You… you’re the demon… from the legends. I thought you were a myth… but you’re real,” Jean managed to get out through his disbelief.

“That’s correct,” Armin said from his place at the demon’s feet. “Everything you’ve believed has been proven false. Now that you’re here and you know this, what will you do?”

“I.. My people… Our village’s soil is becoming barren, so is the land in our immediate surroundings. This mountain, it’s full of life. Everything we need to survive is here. But they’re hindered by your presence in the mountains,” Jean said softly, looking down at his clenched fists. “My people need this mountain… which means you have to go. I’ll have to take you out.”

As soon as he spoke the words, Jean willed the ground beneath them to begin rumbling. However, nothing happened. He tried another move. Again, nothing. 

Eren laughed.

“To think you would have realized by now that you are no longer on the earthly plane,” Eren said, chuckling. “That's quite foolish.”

Jean clenched his fists. He wouldn’t be able to use his elemental power there, not against the demon. He was in a bind. There was no way he would win if the demon was as powerful as the legend had said. He no longer felt betrayed by his friends choosing not to follow him down. They would surely meet their end too if they did.

Still, Jean wouldn’t go down without a fight. The odds were against him, yes, but it wasn’t in his nature to accept defeat. He supposed that stubborn streak was what got him into that very situation too.

With a determined yell, Jean charged forward at the man on the throne. The robed figures began to move forward but Armin held his hand up, stopping them in place.

“Get out of the way! Go! Run!” Jean yelled to Armin as he yanked him away from the demon and pounced on the being immediately.

He swung his arms with all his might, fists connecting with the demon’s face, the same demon who began to laugh, making no attempts to fight back even as he began to bleed from his mouth and face.

“You poisoned the mountain… you killed the god of harvest… you forced my ancestors to leave the mountain… and now they can’t return!” Jean got out in between punches. Eren continued to laugh, even as he lost a tooth and it replaced itself instantly. This was a game to him and Jean was a novice it seemed. Frustrated, he mustered up even more energy to put into his hits.

“I’ll rid this mountain of you so my people can return!”

The room suddenly felt colder then, the source of the cold coming from somewhere behind him.

Jean froze, looking down at the man before him who had already begun to heal fully.

“You have no idea the mistake you just made,” Eren laughed, looking at something behind Jean. Confused, Jean followed the direction of his eyes to where Armin stood in the middle of the room.

An overwhelming sense of fear washed over Jean at the furious express on his face. Gone was the sweet, smiling boy and in his place was something dark and sinister. His blue eyes seemed to be glowing and skin was no longer smooth and blemish free. Instead, green ridges lined his entire body except his face in intricate patterns Jean recognized were roots and branches, similar to the one on his arm but much more complex.

“What… what’s going on?” Jean asked, confused. “You’re…”

Armin frowned, lifting his hand in an instant and Jean felt his body ascend quickly into the air. Just when he felt like he was about to fall, thick dark vines from all directions grabbed his wrists and ankles, suspending him in the air. He struggled, trying to break free from the deathly grip of the vines that seemed to tighten each time he tugged on them.

“Why are you doing this? Haven’t you done enough?” Jean screamed, still trying to fight the vines that bound him. His hands and feet were beginning to ache where his blood flow was being cut off.

Armin laughed as he began to walk towards Jean, the vines lowering him to the ground until he was on his knees.

“Haven’t I done enough? I believe that is a question I have for you,” Armin said softly, pressing a small hand against Jean’s cheek.

“After everything your kind has done… you dare walk onto my mountain, disrespect my existence, enter my home and lay your filthy hands on my husband? I should break your fucking fingers!” Armin growled, pulling his hand back to slap Jean so hard he felt like his head would’ve been taken clean off. He could taste his own blood in his mouth.

“That’s nothing compared to what you did,” Jean bit back. “My ancestors almost starved because of you… the god of harvest… because of you he's no more and my people will face another crisis.”

Eren came up beside Armin then, pressing a small kiss to the top of his blond head.

“Your people,” Eren began. “Are liars. I know this because we are kin.”

“What are you talking about? Kin? With a demon? Absolutely not,” Jean spat in disbelief. “I won't let you feed me with lies, you bastard. If you’re going to kill me, do it quick.”

“Oh no, Jean, I don’t want to kill you,” Armin said, his tone as if he were talking to a child. “You've come this far in seek of the truth and I want you to see it. Then I want you to make a decision.”

Jean shook his head. “I want nothing to do with you two. Kill me and be done with it. I don’t care.”

“Eren,” Armin pouted. “He doesn’t want to listen to me.”

“Then maybe he needs some… _motivation_ , then,” Eren grinned. At that very moment, thick vines snaked their way into the room and Jean could see his four friends wrapped up in them, unconscious. Vines from the ceiling came down to wrap around each of their necks then and Jean felt himself begin to sweat despite the low temperature in the room.

“Since I’m supposed to kill you,” Armin mused, “I guess it’s only fitting that I kill them too right?”

The vine around Marco’s neck slowly began to ascend, lifting Marco with it. Jean panicked.

“Wait!” he shouted. “Wait! I’ll hear you out. Please… just don’t hurt them.  _ Please _ .”

“Good boy,” Armin smiled, patting his cheek. Jean grit his teeth but said nothing, breathing a sigh of relief when Marco was lowered to the floor once more. 

“You see, Jean,” Eren said. “I was once a member of your tribe too and born an elemental myself. Only, I didn’t know how our people came to have these special powers.”

“The god of harvest,” Jean said. Was that not common knowledge back then?

“There is no god of harvest,” Eren chuckled. “Even so, the gods don’t sully their hands in silly human business. They’re too above it all to do a damn thing.”

“That doesn’t make sense… then how?” Jean asked, confused. He didn’t want to believe them, but somehow it didn’t feel like they were lying.

“They called me the Earth Devil back then,” Armin stated. “I was summoned to help your people with a famine. I did, of course. The mountain thrived and so did your people. I didn't ask for anything in return since your people worshipped the ground I walked. I suppose I was a bit too young and naïve back then.”

“I still don’t un-”

“Just listen,” Armin interrupted him. “We'll explain it all.

“As your people began to thrive, it seemed they forgot what hard times felt like. My help was taken for granted. My shrine on the mountain top was receiving less and less offerings but the people would make more and more demands, demands that I would decline of course. The village leaders at the time didn’t like that. They wanted to use me for prosperity but on their terms, not mine.

"I would find out just how far they would go to get what they wanted then. With the help of a dark shaman, they bound me to my shrine and tried to force me to do their bidding. That didn’t work because I refused.”

Jean couldn’t believe it. His entire people’s history was an entire lie. There was no god of harvest who offered his body to let his people live. Instead, his ancestors were demon worshippers. His stomach turned.

“How did we get the power of the earth element then?” Jean asked.

“When I refused to do what they wanted, the dark shaman said there was another way. By consuming my flesh, your people would be able to take some of my powers,” Armin explained. “You would have the power to nourish the land and manipulate it as you saw fit.

“And so, bound to my shrine and cursed by the dark shaman, I was powerless to stop your people from devouring my body. I would heal, and they would eat again, and the cycle would repeat itself for decades until one day I was forgotten. The power of the element could at that point be passed down through genetics. There wasn’t much need for me or my body anymore.

“But I wasn’t in good shape you see. Weakened after decades of being devoured over and over again, I was healing at too slow a pace. I was malnourished and was certain I would die.”

“But you’re alive,” Jean said, stating the obvious. The vines’ grip on him loosened slightly and he felt relieved as he felt his blood flowing again.

“Eren found me,” Armin continued. “He dressed my wounds, bathed and fed me when I couldn’t do it myself and even learned a way to break the curse and unbind me from the mountain. He saved my life… and we fell in love.” A soft smile found its way onto both their faces then and Jean looked down.

Demons were capable of love? It should be impossible and yet… there the two were. Except, Eren said he was like him, an elemental. But he had no tattoos.

“You said you were an elemental too, but you have no tattoos. And you two sound centuries old,” Jean said. “How?”

“To help Armin heal I gave back what was stolen from him,” Eren explained. “The healing process was still slow, but it was much better with more of his power flowing through him. When we got married and our souls combined, I was given immortality. As long as Armin lives, then so will I.”

Jean couldn’t believe it. All this time, he hadn't believed the legend and rightfully so. It was all wrong. But knowing that didn’t make him feel better. The truth of what really happened was even worse.

“And so you chased my people from the mountain after you healed?” Jean asked.

“Correct,” Armin nodded. “I was so enraged by what happened to me I wanted to kill them all directly. I wanted to devour each and everyone of your ancestors slowly and painfully to take back what was mine and show them how it felt to be feasted upon.”

The rage on Armin’s face made Jean gulp. 

“But you didn’t,” he stated.

Armin shook his head. “Eren stopped me. He reminded me that the people who did this to me were long dead. The new generations had forgotten me and had no idea of my existence. Punishing them wouldn’t make me feel any better. But letting them live in the mountains didn’t make me feel at ease either so I drove them out.”

“So you see now how wrong you were all this time?” Eren asked.

Jean sat there in silence as he attempted to process everything fully. It was a lot to take in and he felt sick to his stomach. How was he to return home and look at everything the same then?  _ Would _ he even return home now?

“What now?” he asked. “You said I had to make a decision? What do I have to do?”

“You have two choices. You five will stay here, bound and stripped of your powers where you will live out eternity as my loyal servants. As a small gift I will replenish the land for your people so that they may survive the harsh months ahead. Or, you five walk free with your powers intact but your entire village will die from disease and starvation. Choose wisely,” Armin said.

“No!” Jean shouted, once again tugging on the vines again. “That’s not… that’s not fair! I brought them into this. I asked them to come with me. I can’t choose that for them! Why not just take me? I’ll do whatever you want. Just let my friends go.”

“I won't change the terms. Five lives or five hundred, Jean. Choose,” Armin demanded.

Jean felt his eyes burn with angry tears. He was so foolish! What had he got him and his friends into?

“You can’t do this… please,” he begged. “I can’t ruin their lives like this. I can’t let this happen to them because of me.”

“So you will let your entire people die, then?”

“No… I…  _ please! _ Why are you doing this?” Jean pleaded.

“I’ve learned my lesson, Jean. And I’ve learned it well. Your ancestors made sure of it. Nothing will be given freely without first receiving something in return. So you will choose. Will you give me five lives? Or five hundred?”

Jean’s heart ached in his chest as he sobbed. He knew logically what he had to do, but it still wasn’t an easy decision.

He didn’t know how long he knelt there until he finally made a decision, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

“I’ve made my decision.”

Armin sighed softly as he ran the dark washcloth against Eren’s chest. The two were sitting in a large tub of warm water with Eren sitting in between Armin’s legs.

“Do you think I made the right decision?” Armin asked.

“Of course you did. There was no way he could return after finding out the truth and he would be miserable here without his friends. They will forgive him and their people will be saved,” Eren said.

“So I wasn’t being too harsh then?”

“A healthy dose of fear is essential for a demon, my love. It helps ensure you’re never taken advantage of again, never underestimated again.”

Armin couldn’t deny that. It was his kind heart and love for humans, unlike the rest of his kind, that had brought him so much pain and suffering. He could never let such a thing happen again.

“Sometimes I wish you were the demon between the two of us,” Armin laughed. “You’re so much better at being intimidating than I am. Nevermind the fact that they always think it's you!”

Eren laughed, turning to press a soft kiss to Armin’s lips.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Armin asked. “When he was punching you…”

“Because I knew you’d lose it then and there,” Eren said, standing up out of the tub and lifting Armin into his arms with a smirk. “And I can’t deny how sexy you look when you’re threatening lives.”

Armin blushed, shaking his head as he slapped Eren’s shoulder. “You’re insane!”

“But you love me anyway.”

“I do,” Armin smiled, leaning in for a longer, much more passionate kiss.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> Okayyyy that was a little dark but inspiration struck and I had to write this. Let me know what you thought and if you'd be interested in a second part that's more focused on eremin and how they got together.
> 
> ~neo


End file.
